Raytheon Technologies Corp. posted $264 million in third quarter profits, a 77% drop from the same period last year, as commercial aerospace markets continued to suffer at the hands of COVID-19.
The Massachusetts-based multinational defense and commercial aerospace conglomerate’s third quarter profit dip — $264 million, or 17 cents per diluted share, compared with $1.1 billion, or $1.33 per diluted share the same period last year — came about a month after it announced it will lay off of 15,000 employees as part of a $2 billion cost savings initiative.
The drop in profits came despite a 30% uptick in sales from 2019’s third quarter, with about $14.7 billion between July and September, compared to $11.4 billion in sales during the same period in 2019. The reason was higher costs and expenses, including a $500 million charge related to unfavorable contract adjustments Raytheon attributed to the pandemic, as well as accounting adjustments related to the company’s merger with United Technologies this past April.
“The long-term business fundamentals and earnings power of Raytheon Technologies remain strong with our balanced portfolio, leading businesses and advanced technologies that combine the best of commercial aerospace and defense,” Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes said in a statement Tuesday.
Raytheon subsidiary Collins Aerospace’s third quarter sales of $3.5 million is a 94% drop from the previous year. Hayes, who was CEO of United Technologies Corp. before its $120-billion merger with Raytheon, said the commercial aerospace sector is down about 44% globally; better than the industry’s COVID nadir in March when it dropped about 80%.
Raytheon posted a $3.8-billion loss during 2020’s second quarter, largely due to a pandemic-related drop-off of commercial aviation sales.
